Heartbroken man attempts suicide in beloved's grave

Nov 17, 2008, 12:30 GMT

Islamabad - A doctor was arrested in Pakistan's eastern province of Punjab after he failed to kill himself in his beloved's grave, police said Monday.

Irfan Sheikh, who age was estimated at 50, was found unconscious in the dug-up grave of his female cousin who died two days earlier in Kamalia, 130 kilometers south-west of Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab.

'It appears that this man is not in his mind,' said Zulfiqar Ali, a police investigator. 'He dug up the grave and lied down with the dead woman after taking tranquilizer pills in large quantity on Saturday night.'

But the locals informed us on the next morning about the opened grave and we moved the doctor, who was still alive, to first the hospital and then to the police station after treatment, he added.

Irfan told police that he loved his 60-year-old cousin but she was forced to marry another man against her will about 30 years ago.

'I never got married because I had promised her that I would not think of any women except her,' he was quoted as saying by Ali.

When she died, Ali said he felt that the world had ended for him and decided to join her in the grave.

'The woman's family does not want any legal action against the doctor and we are not sure what sort of charges should be brought against him. Perhaps, we are going to book him for suicide attempt,' Ali said.